Where to buy oriental rugs

There are a few options open to you when buying an oriental rug and I think it true to say it is often a balance of risk against cost. The auction houses often have rugs available and occasionally there are bargains to be had. It is however an area fraught with risk. Unless the photographs are excellent and this is rarely the case, it can be difficult to ascertain the condition fully especially where there is mildew or moth damage. Small holes are also hard to see on poor photographs and occasionally rugs may be painted to hide wear. You are also competing with the experts who spend their days trawling through the auction sites. Unless you can collect the pieces yourself one has to consider shipping costs which always seem disproportionately high. Rugs can go very cheaply in auction but I have also seen rugs sell for far more than their value as the bidders get caught up in the chase.

Ebay and other online market places are awash with rugs, normally new or vintage with garish colours and poor materials. I can scroll twenty pages without seeing anything of interest to me. In the end it depends on what your criteria is but I find these market places tiring to sift through to find the occasional gem.

Antique shops and fairs occasionally have rugs but I do find that most general antique dealers lose their aesthetic mind when it comes to rugs, even the ones who have developed an eye for beauty in many other disciplines.

The one I would suggest you avoid is the ‘Persian rug sale’ that appears in a local hotel or town hall for a couple of days. The rugs although handmade are rarely Persian and often very poor examples. There are warehouses full of these rugs that are taken on consignment and having visited quite a few over the years I have never seen anything I remotely liked yet. Occasionally they may be offered in a fake pop up auction although this is less common these days.

It might come as no surprise that I think the best route is to find a dealer that can guide you through the process and protect you from any mistakes. I believe the job of the dealer is to educate and assist. Of course, as in any trade there will be those who will prefer to mislead the novice to their own advantage and in this very niche business there isn’t the ability to check reviews and less likelihood of a personal recommendation. I always suggest that customers take their time before deciding and I offer a full refund in the first month in case they fall out of love with their purchase or find it doesn’t fit in with their décor etc.

You decision should be based on your knowledge and appetite for risk but I would suggest the dealer’s job is to do the searching for you, to filter out the mistakes and provide you with a selection of beautiful items that have passed their educated test.